Week of 11/27/2017

Quote of the Week: 



Morning Hilsman Pride,

We are in the midst of a much needed break! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed your families. I am definitely enjoying the opportunity to get a few extra hours of sleep. However I must admit, I miss the students! As we all took an extra moment to give thanks, allow me to give thanks to all of you. It is with pleasure that I serve the students, parents, and staff of Hilsman Middle School. I do not take it lightly and is grateful for the work that is performed in and out of our building. Thank you for being an awesome group of parents that support our school community. You are an intricate part of our success! 

As we all prepare to return to school Monday, please pay close attention to the announcements below:

Announcements

Chorus 

The Hilsman Middle School Chorus will be performing December 12th at Cedar Shoals High School Auditorium for a Winter Holiday Musical Event. The program will begin at 6:30 pm. (Parents-Parents please bring students to CSHS no later than 6:00 pm. The students attire for the program is either Gold chorus shirt, black slacks, and black shoes or Black chorus shirt, black slacks, and black shoes).

News from Mrs. Maxey

Science Fair projects are in full swing. Students may do their backboards virtually or on their own backboards, for which they are to supply the materials.  The school science fair will take place December 11th. Any scientists willing to volunteer as judges can contact Mrs. Maxey.

In the IB world, students have worked hard on MYP projects. They have begun to think like the experts. Some of these projects are displayed on the IB board in the front hallway. 

Students are working on their Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing/Art Competition submissions due in January.

IB: The first IB report cards will be going home with the second nine weeks report card. The rubrics and assessment specifics are on the curriculum portal. The link is below. Feel free to contact Mrs. Maxey with any further questions.

https://sites.google.com/a/clarke.k12.ga.us/ccsd-curriculum-portal/?pli=1

Science Fair will take place December 11th. If you would like to be a volunteer judge, please contact Mrs. Maxey.

Things to come: Spelling Bee, Geography Bee, Social Studies Fair, and Young Georgia Authors will take place in January and February

Band

The Hilsman Middle School Band will have our Winter Concert on Monday, December 11 at 6:30 pm.  The concert will take place at the Cedar Shoals High School Theater.  Students need to take their instruments home with them Monday after school (except tubas and baritones).  Students should wear khaki pants and the official band shirt (or black polo shirt).  Students can also wear Santa hats.  

From Mr. Dorsey

Hilsman Fruit Sale has been extended to November 28. Please contact Mr. Dorsey for more information - dorseyr@clarke.k12.ga.us. 

PSP News

PSP will resume  December  4th and 5th.  The hours are from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Bus transportation is provided for those students that live in the school zone.

Week at a Glance

Monday

21st Century

4:00-6:00 Livestock Judging Practice

Tuesday

21st Century
4:00-6:00 Livestock Judging Practice

Wednesday

21st Century
Area 2 Livestock Judging at UGA- 1 o clock.

Thursday

21st Century
$5 Poinsettia Sale 4-6. Plants are all first come first serve. (Students may help if they need SAE hours)

HMS Basketball  HMS v/s CMS  Girls 4:30, Boys 5:30 @ HMS
LSGT Meeting @ 6:30 HMS Media Center

Friday-Spirit shirt day/khaki or black bottoms
SAE check in all classes. 2 hours and 2 pictures due.

Week of 11/12/17

Good evening Panther Nation,

Happy Veterans Day to all of the military personnel who have served our country. Thank you for your service!  
                             

We had a busy yet fun week at Hilsman. Highlights from the week include, BOE recognition for some FFA members, Moonlight Madness, a win for the boys basketball team, Parent Coffee, revealing of the plans for a beautiful new building, ending it with the Annual SOAR 5K! Thank you to everyone that came out to support the activities. I continue to encourage you all to participate in the activities and get involved at Hilsman! Your presence is always welcomed and your voice is important. You will have more opportunities this week to get involved and we look forward to seeing you.

Thank you,
Principal Tolbert

Announcements

Friday, following dismissal from the Moonlight Madness event, emergency vehicles and personnel were on our campus. A parent suffered a severe medical emergency. Please know that at no time were students' safety at risk. We continue to reassure you that your child's safety is our first priority.

From Mr. Watkins

Hilsman Staff and Community

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the Moonlight Madness event, helped organize, set up, manage, and participated last night. 

Although I cannot list all of names due to the fact that I may miss someone, I am extremely happy with the Panther Pride that was shown last night. Again, thank you for all you do. Our students, parents, and community visitors enjoyed themselves and were very appreciative of your hard work. Have a great weekend. 

Dinner Dialogue 

Come join us for the first session of our dinner dialogue series on race and poverty this Wednesday at 6:00pm in the Media Center.  We are encouraging all to bring a favorite dish.  You can sign up here: 

Dinner Dialogue Potluck Sign-Up      Dinner Dialogue Outline

Chorus 

The Hilsman Middle School Chorus will be performing December 12th at Cedar Shoals High School Auditorium for a Winter Holiday Musical Event. The program will begin at 6:30 pm. (Parents-Parents please bring students to CSHS no later than 6:00 pm. The students attire for the program is either Gold chorus shirt, black slacks, and black shoes or Black chorus shirt, black slacks, and black shoes).

 Orchestra Concert

Thursday November 16th at 6:30  HMS Old Gym

Your students have been hard at work and are excited about our upcoming concert!   All grade levels will perform. Family, friends, and any guests are welcome to attend.  Students should report to the Orchestra Room by 5:45 to tune.  Concert attire consists of a black school uniform appropriate collared shirt and khaki uniform pants. Please no shorts or hoodies. Skirts may be worn instead of khakis but must be long enough to meet school dress-code expectations. Please contact Ms. Floyd with any questions.

News from Mrs. Maxey

Science Fair projects are in full swing. Students may do their backboards virtually or on their own backboards, for which they are to supply the materials.  The school science fair will take place December 11th. Any scientists willing to volunteer as judges can contact Mrs. Maxey.

In the IB world, students have worked hard on MYP projects. They have begun to think like the experts. Some of these projects are displayed on the IB board in the front hallway. 

Students are working on their Martin Luther King, Jr. Writing/Art Competition submissions due in January.

Week at a Glance

Monday

21st Century

8:00AM FFA Officer Meeting

4:00-6:00 Livestock Judging Practice (We have a guest speaker so make sure to attend if you are competing on this team).

Tuesday

21st Century
4:00-6:00 FFA Meeting (bring a dessert or a side for our Friendsgiving supper).

Wednesday

21st Century
Dinner Dialogue @ 6:00-Media Center

Thursday

21st Century
4:00-6:00 Horse Judging Practice 

HMS Basketball  HMS v/s Coile Girls 4:30, Boys 5:30 @ Coile

Friday-Spirit shirt day/khaki or black bottoms

Looking ahead:

November 30th: Poinsettia ($5) and Houseplant ($5-$10) Sale 4:00-6:00
Hilsman Greenhouse- Stop by during this time to see prices and what is for sale! It is first come first serve as we have limited plants!

Week of 11/5/2017

Quote of the Week:

 “There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits.” —Michael Phelps

Happy Sunday,

Tomorrow will mark the beginning of another week at Hilsman Middle School. We are looking forward to our continued focus on teaching to reach every student as well as  maintaining a positive school culture. 

With the breaking of the news last week, please be assured that your child is safe at Hilsman. Although I do have not any additional information to share with you regarding the incident,  please know that the situation was handled with a sense of urgency and care. This week we will host team town hall meetings to speak with our students and to reassure them that they are safe. It is important that they know that they can trust their teachers and administrators. We want to encourage them to stay the course and remained focused on their academics and behavior. I also want to remind our community that challenges occur, we will embrace them with integrity and heart, manage the situation, and remained tuned in to the work that we MUST do for all of children.

Thank you for your support and willingness to trust the process. We are committed to producing a culture of excellence. Our data is trending higher! All of our students can and will learn. Together we will continue to be an amazing Panther Pack!

Kind Regards,

Principal Tolbert


Announcements

Fall make-up/retake pictures will be Wednesday, Nov. 8th. Students will need to be in uniform for their pictures. Payment can be made online, or you may send in a check when the proofs come back. Order forms with the online payment information can be requested from the student's homeroom teacher next week.

Social Media

Parents, please continue to speak with your children regarding their interactions on social media. We have experienced a rise in discipline infractions due to students inappropriately using social media after school hours. Many conversations have been held with students related to this behavior.  It is causing a major disruption to our learning environment. In response,  the counselors have arranged for The Cottage to come in and speak with all of our students about social media safety. Any student who continues to impede the learning of others will receive consequences as outlined by our Student Code of Conduct.

Want some fruit?

Hilsman Fruit Sale -- October 16 thru November 15

Fruit will be delivered the week of December 11

Please see Team Gora (Dorsey, Gaertig, Picha, Zabetakis) or Ms. Seymour (FACS) for more information!

All money raised will support student community based instruction and classroom activities.

Tutoring

Students of all grades are invited and encouraged to attend after school tutoring and makeup sessions with Ms. Jones each Tuesday in room 112 from 4 until 5.  Students must be picked up by 5:00 or have permission to walk home.  HOUSE POINTS AWARDED FOR ATTENDANCE!  Come help your grade AND your house!

PSP- Please return all applications to Mrs. Ward ASAP.

Service Help

Please consider contributing to helping the victims of the recent natural disasters. A penny drive, supply campaign, and Stop Hunger campaign are all part of the Hilsman Bands Together campaign.

Yearbooks are currently on sale for $22. Contact Ms. Hubbard or Mrs. Maxey for details.

News from 6th Grade

Dear 6th grade Parents and Students!

In accordance with our School Growth Plan, the sixth grade team would like to introduce intramural sports for the sixth grade students! Intramural sports are a way of respecting the individuality of each student and supporting the academic, social-emotional, and physical well being of our students. We hope that through this afterschool program students will build rapport with their peers, engage in character building, motivate the students to do well academically, strengthen student-teacher relationships, and enhance the overall culture of the school. We plan to enhance the atmosphere of the classroom by teaching students how discipline, collaboration, and hard work is rewarding and self-fulfilling. Starting Monday, November 6th, sign-ups will be available to your students to join intramural sports.  If they are interested, this program is designed for each individual to come out and join.  Intramural sports will be inclusive of boys and girls and everyone will be able to play a variety of sports, including:

·  Flag Football

·  Basketball

·  Kickball

·  Soccer

·  Pep Squad

Students will enhance their work ethic, communication, and leadership skills through team sports as they would have weekly practices at least one day a week and games at least once every other week. Students will be encouraged to not only participate in sports, but also to support their fellow classmates by attending their games. We want to encourage the students to be great team players and reliable supporters of one another.

The logistics which includes the need to have referees, field managers, concessions, uniforms, location of practices, times for the practice, a place for games, eligibility, and grade accountability will be discussed further after sign-ups and a parent meeting.

Diarra Mosley (mosleyd@clarke.k12.ga.us)

Rachel Rohrbach (rohrbachr@clarke.k12.ga.us)

Randall Watkins (watkinsra@clarke.k12.ga.us)

Week at a Glance

Monday
21st Century
FFA Floriculture Team Practice 4-6

Tuesday

21st Century
FFA Floriculture Team Practice 4-6

Wednesday

21st Century
UGA Floriculture Contest 
Building Construction Meeting- 5:30 pm (HMS Media Center)

Thursday

21st Century

Livestock Judging Practice 4:00-5:00
HMS Basketball  HMS v/s Hart County Girls 4:30, Boys 5:30 @ Home

Friday

Moonlight Madness 6:00-8:00